Memento Mori is an exploration of death and dying. A tall order. A lifetime of dying, in fact. As the writer Franz Kafka wrote, "The meaning of life is that it stops." The lifetime of living and collecting. The search for answers. Faith. Science. Fear. Dust. Nothingness. 

“Death is a mystery to me. I tend to lean on science but grew up believing in the ideas that my Catholic mother held dearly. This project is an opportunity to investigate contemporary ideas around death and dying. In a world that has been inundated with death due to the pandemic, senseless acts of violence, and the horrors of famine and war, this piece seeks to ease some of the fear that lies ahead for all of us.” - Michael Cavazos, Director

Who will write my eulogy and how will the collective “they” remember me? Who will cancel my instagram account and what photos will they find on my phone or in the depths of my old myspace account? Will I live on through technology? What have I collected and what do these mementos say about me? Will anyone miss me? Will anyone attend my funeral, my ashes divided among family members, sprinkled on the landscape, compressed into a diamond, a lock of my hair saved, cryogenic dreams, compost for a seedling that becomes a treehouse for my great grandchildren. Maybe I'll become a firework and my family and friends will shoot me into the air. Death. The ripples. Dearly beloved, what happens next? 

Memento Mori | A Meditation on Death.